The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will host a webinar on December 15, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET which will discuss how Job Centers can successfully place individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) in employment through Individual Placement and Support (IPS). IPS is evidence-based supported employment for people with behavioral health conditions and places them in job opportunities that interest them and play to their strengths.

Most people working in human services accept that gathering and using family input improves direct service programs. However, this approach is still emerging and has a limited evidence base. Some human services programs already engage families in program improvement regularly, but this practice is less common in TANF and child support programs. This brief summarizes available literature and practice wisdom on gathering and using family input in program improvement across the human services field, with a particular focus on TANF and child support programs. It provides concrete examples and considerations for practitioners and administrators of child support, TANF, and other human services programs interested in engaging families in program improvement.

Successful reintegration into society following engagement with the criminal justice system depends on being able to meet basic needs including those for food, shelter, and medical care, as well as having access to employment and training programs. According to this brief, TANF and SNAP are critical programs that help people meet their basic needs. However, people who have been incarcerated usually face significant challenges and are frequently disqualified from receiving benefits from these programs. Public assistance such as TANF and SNAP consistently reduces recidivism, while banning access to assistance has been linked to increases in recidivism. Lifting the ban on safety net supports reduces material hardship for formerly incarcerated people, who are exceedingly paid low earnings, and also helps their families. The brief includes a discussion of which states have lifted or modified the ban and highlights one state that had previously lifted the ban and then partially reinstated it.

For young parents juggling work, school, and child care, supporting their families while transitioning into adulthood can be challenging. Parents with low incomes and those who have been involved with the foster care or criminal legal systems face even greater barriers to achieving stability. To explore how organizations can improve young parents’ employment and educational opportunities, this blogpost reflects findings from interviews with representatives of three partners involved in the Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) initiative. (LEAP™ is a multi­million dollar initiative to increase employment and educational opportunities for young people, ages 14 to 25, who are in foster care, homeless, or exiting the juvenile justice system.) Interviews were held with staff members at two LEAP cohort members—the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and The Door in New York City—as well as with Hennepin Healthcare, a Minnesota organization that collaborates with Project for Pride in Living, another LEAP cohort member. The answers they shared highlight the importance of convening cross-sector partners to work toward common goals, connecting with other organizations to meet parents’ basic needs, and navigating public systems to remove barriers and help young people achieve their goals.

This letter from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to its colleagues states that losing a parent or caregiver has become an ongoing tragedy for children and youth caused by the co-occurring COVID-19 and drug overdose crises, as well as increases in suicides and homicides. ACF is committed to partnering with grant recipients and state and local stakeholders to ensure that children, youth, and families who have lost a parent or caregiver are supported and connected with the services and resources they need to find stability again. The letter includes a list of resources and programs such as TANF to support families after parent and caregiver loss.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) are aware of increasing reports of benefit theft through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card skimming schemes. These agencies are also aware of the devastating impact the loss of benefits can have on participating households. FNS and ACF encourage states to use fraud prevention options by informing and enabling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) households to opt into card security services that proactively protect their cards and PINs. This FNS resource identifies prevention measures that can be adopted to improve EBT card security while working towards longer-term strategies. Included in the resource are a list of card security services for client households, and a recommended list of actions state agencies can take to protect clients.

Social services programs are increasingly looking for ways to forecast which participants are likely to reach major milestones so they can tailor services and allocate resources. In recent years, some programs have explored advanced predictive modeling approaches that harness potentially millions of data points and may incorporate machine learning: a variety of algorithms that determine relationships between prediction measures and the outcome. While there is potential for social service programs to use advanced models, MDRC’s Center for Data Insights (CDI) has found that such methods are not always better at making reliable predictions and come with trade-offs. This post outlines CDI’s approach to predictive analytics, using illustrations from two studies: Career Pathways, a workforce training program, and Child First, a home visiting program.

“Concrete support in times of need” is a cornerstone of family well-being and a critical protective factor in the Strengthening Families framework from the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP). CSSP will host a webinar on November 10, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET where Clare Anderson and Yasmin Grewal-Kök from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago will share recent research about how economic stability affects children and families and will illustrate how this research can bolster our efforts to ensure that all families have access to the concrete supports they need to thrive. Other presentations will include updates from CSSP staff and the Children’s Trust Fund Alliance about new resources and opportunities.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a federal nutrition program that offers nourishing foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to health care for nutritionally at-risk infants, children up to 5 years old, and pregnant and postpartum women from households with low income. WIC enhances individuals' nutritional consumption, birth and health outcomes, and general health. The program also promotes learning and growth, lessens food insecurity, and aids in the fight against poverty. This brief details the change in WIC participation and benefit redemption food costs during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 through February 2022) and provides recommendations to strengthen WIC now and beyond the pandemic.

Largely due to the opioid crisis, the federal government has increased its focus on and funding for programs that address both treatment and employment outcomes for people with substance use disorder (SUD). Programs that combine employment services with SUD treatment or recovery efforts aim to achieve the dual goals of sustaining recovery and improving economic well-being. This report documents five programs that combine SUD treatment and recovery services with employment services. It also offers recommendations for those already implementing similar programs or interested in developing them.